Machinery for agglomerating ore.



P 0. HARDING. MACHINERY FOR AGGLOMERATING ORE. APPLICATION FILED JAN-15.1917.

1 39, 1 ?9 Patented Sept. at, 191?.

3 SHEETS-SHEET WITNESSES' P O. HARDING. MACHINERY FOR AGGLOMERATING ORE. APPLICATION FILED IAN.15.1917.

1 ,%3@, 11. 79 Patenhfl Sept 4, Eli-M7.

3 SHEETSSHEET 2.

mm. Fang.

P. O. HARDING.

MACHINERY FOR AGGLOMERATING ORE.

APPLICATION FILED ]AN.|5,19H.

Patented Sept. 4, 191?.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3 FEB.@.

ma ma FIB.E-

, A/ V///// J INVENTOH IIII, Fig. 1.

v rerun snares rar inar enr c PHILIP o. HARDING, or nancaeun, CHILE.

MACHINERY FOB AGGLOMERATING ORE.

Application filed January 15,1917.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, lrriLIr O. HARDING,

residing at Rancagua, in the Republic of Chile, a citizen of the UnitedStates, have invented or discovered certain new and useful Improvements in Machinery for Ag glomerating Ore, of which iinproven' ents the following is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in machinery for agglomerating ore, and such like agglomerable finely divided material; more specifically, it consists in improvements in the agglomerating machine which is described in Letters Patent of the United States No. 1,166,904 granted me January 4,1916.

The improved machine of my present invention is shown in the accompanying drawings. Figure 1 is a view of the machine in vertical medial section; Fig. 2 is a fragmeir tary View in horizontal section, the plane of section being that indicated by the line Fig. 3 is. a fragmentary view in horizontal section, the plane. of sec -tion being that indicated by the line IIIIII, Fig.1. Fig.4 is a fragmentary view corresponding toFig. 1 and showing a modification in detail. Fig. 5 is a view in horizontal section on the plane indicated by the line VV,"Fig. 41. Figs. 69, inclusive, show successively, in medial vertical section and in plan, further modifications in the shape of the feed hoppershown in Figs. 4:

and 5. Fig. 10 is like Fig. 2 but shows a modification of the feed apparatus.

The essential parts of the machine are;

the same as in the machine of Fig. 1 of the patent mentloned. They include a vertically arranged agglomeration chamber or tube 1,

terminating in a downwardly flaring bell or mouth 27.. Beneath and opposite the mouth of the tube is the breaker 8. The upper end of the tube is inclosed by the walls of a substantially air-tight chamber 5, from which a suction pipe 4 leads. A feed mecha nism, such as not seriously to interfere with the upwardly maintained draft through tube 1, is exemplified in the feed pipe 7,

through which material is advanced by a suitably driven feed screw from an external hopper and from which the material falls to theupp'er intake end of tube 1. A

spreader and pusher 8 (detailed illustration of which will be found in the patent referred to) is arranged in the upper portion of tube 1.- It is carried and rotated by a suitably Specification-of Letters Patent.

Patented Sept. 4l,191'7.

Serial No. 142,449.

driven shaft 10. spreader which it carries are vertically reciprocable, as is suggested by the connection Shown at 11, Fig. l, and more fully shown in the patent mentioned.

The operationis preferably continuous, Material fed through feed pipe 7 descends by gravity into and fills tube 1, the newly entering material resting on the. material in course of treatment, and the whole mass resting on breaker 3 below. Combustion of the material within tube 1 is produced either by externally applied or internally developed heat and is preferably concei'itrated at a level or zone in the upper portion of the tube. This also-is made plain in the speci fication of my earlier patent mentioned above. Rotation of the breaker, upon which the charge of material under treatment The shaft 10 and the rests, effects a breaking up of the agglomerated mass as it descends from the region of combustion, and at the same time effects the .andcarries upward and back into the region of combustion such friable material as, first pocketed in the agglomerated material, has

subsequently been released by the fragmentation of the body of material descending in the tube from the region of combustion.

My present invention particularly concerns the feeding in of. friable material at the top of the sintering tubel.

The feed vapparatus, which in Fig. .1 coin sists of the tube 7 with its contained, conveying worm, terminates inwardly. in a delivery portion, a lip made preferably as a separable structural part, that it may be removed, shaped,. and. replaced as desired. Comparison of Figs. 1 and 2 will show the particular arrangement and shaping of this delivery portion in which my invention partiallyconsists. The delivery opening a (t is arranged directly above the intake end of tube 1 and extends from a point near the prolonged vertical axis of the tube, radially to a point above the periphery of the tube, and the opening is of gradually increasing width from axis-to periphery (using terms which indicate its relation to the tube). The reason for such gradation in width is that the best distribution of material, as it enters the tube may be had, and the least redistribution of material by spreader 8 required. The material is fed in smallest quantities to the central portions of the intake end of the tube and in largest quantities to the peripheral portions, where larger quantities are i needed.

The best shaping of the delivery orifice will in any given case be dependent on the character of theinfed material; some material will advantageously be fed from a less,

some from a more gradually tapered openmg, to eflect the desired evenness of spreadexperience shall indicate.

' 'ismade, which has not been cut away.

-In successive working with materials of of tube 1" the feed-chute .22.

different characteristics, one delivery end of tube 7 may be replaced by another with a differently proportional deliveryorifice.

In order to effect the circumferential distribution of the material fed in through coni duit 7 around the entire circle of the intake end of tube 1, I interpose between the delivery end of conduit Tand the intake end This chute is ,helically shaped, and is rigidly mounted on and carried by the shaft 10. It extends through one complete helical convolution though "preferably no more than that.

Throughout all the range of its rotation it extends beneath and receives material descending from the delivery orifice of the feed conduit, and by its rotation it is constantly spreading in the mouth of tube 1 the mate-= rial which it so receives. The shape of this helical chute in cross sectlon 1s relatlvely unimportant, but a servlceableshape is 1nd1 'catedin F 1, where it is shown to be a flat-bottomed trough with side flanges, and I with a medial directing flange also.

Figs. Q and 5 show a modification inthis,

that thefeed conduit 7 discharges material this hopper has a delivery-orifice b radially "arranged with respect to the intake of the into ahopper23 carried by" shaft 10,- and tube 1 below and tapered, as the orifice a of the delivery end 21 of the conduit 1" and 2 is tapered.

Fi'g's. 6-9, inclusive, show that this feed hopper may be'modified in shape in various ways.' .Figs. 6 and 7 show the hopper 23 to b'eprovided with vertical side walls and i aunifo rmly i'nclined' bottom inwhich the radially extending tapered orifice c is "formed; Figs. 8 and 9 indicate'that the hop per 23 may be provided (as chute 22 of 'Figs. 1 and 2 is provided) with an intermediate flange 28, keeping separate the madinally.)

stream of in-fed material is divided into of Figs. i rotation of the disk causes the breaker to terial fed to the central portion of the tube from that fed to the peripheral portion. It will be understood that thehopper of Figs. 6-9 may be combined with a feed conduit such as that shown in Figs. 1 and 2, taking the place of the feed chute 22 of Fig. 1. When so combined, the tapered delivery orifice of the conduit will already have eifected that radial distribution of the fed-in material which has already been mentioned, and, accordingly, there is not the same necessity for tapering the orifice of the hopper also. Nevertheless, the orifice in the hopper may in any case be tapered. As indicated in Fig. 9, however, the hopper 23 though provided with a medial flange 28, has an untapered orifice d. It will beunderstood that, combined with the feed conduit ofFig. 1, the medial flange of this hopper will maintain to a degree the distribution effected by the tapered orifice of the conduit 7.

As shown in Fig. 10, the delivery lip of the feed conduit may be modified; The longitudinal strengthening bar is indeed a partition which cuts and divides the advancing stream of in-fed materialinto two streams. The two portions of the orifice are arranged,

one substantially on one side, the other substantially on the other side of this partition.

(The dotted lines, however, indicate that each of these openings may extend somewhat beyond the dividing partition.) The two openings are arranged in sequence longitudinally of the feed conduit and one of them (the one first encountered by the advancing material) is larger than the other. (They may, as in Fig.2, be tapered longitu- The eifectis that the oncoming twOstreams, one of which flows in greater volume to theperipheral portion of the'tubular furnace chamber below, and the other in less volume tothe central portion.

The features a of construction of the breaker, arranged opposite the'lower end of the sintering tube, are shown in Figs. 1 and 3; The breaker 3 is preferably of the spherical contour here indicated, rather than conical, and it is preferably imperforater It is provided underneath 'vvith'an openended sleeve 24 which idly engages a stubshaft 25. Stub 25' constitutes the eccentricallyplaced hub or stud. of adisk' 2.6, suitably mounted and' driven. Manifestly, the

revolve in its position oppositethe discharge end of tube 1. At thesame'time'thebreaker is free to rotate idly on shaft '25. I-usethe terms revolve and rotate with precision of the tube 1 may, as indicated in Fig. 1,'be

shaped with bars and intervening longitudinally extending slots, after the manner of a grate.

The operation is in general features the same as in the machine of my earlier patent mentioned above. The refinements upon that operation which are achieved by my present invention concern the progress of the material through-the sintering tube; the end in view being evenness and regularity of operation. To this end the material entering the tube 1 at the intake end is radially distributed and circumferentially spread to afford uniformity of feed over the area of the intake, or at least the best distribution to meet the conditions of combustion; and, further, the breaking up of the agglomerated material and the freedom of its discharge is more effectuallyattained. The feeding mechanism so distributes the material as it enters the sintering tube as to prevent uneven packing; thus the formation of channels is avoided through which the upflowing gases might otherwise pass. At the same time the rotary and revoluble breaker is effective to break the descending sintered material into small lumps, with the result that the material descends in the tube more gradually, and undesirable slips are prevented.

I claim as my invention:

1. In a sintering machine, the combination of a Vertically disposed tubular sintering chamber, of a conveyer arranged above said chamber and provided with a tapered delivery orifice radially arranged and stationary with respect to said chamber, and a spreader arranged beneath said conveyer.

In a sintering machine, the combination with a vertically disposed tubular sintering chamber of a feed mechanism provided with a tapered delivery orifice arranged above said chamber and radially with respect thereto and at an interval therefrom, and a rotary helical chute arranged between the delivery orifice of said feed mechanism and the upper end of said sintering chamber.

3. In a sintering machine, the combination with a vertically disposed tubular sintering chamber of a feed mechanism pro vided with a tapered delivery orifice arranged above said chamber and radially with respect thereto and at an interval therefrom, and a rotary chute arranged between the delivery orifice of said feed mech anism and the upper end of said sintering chamber.

ii:- In a sintering machine, the combination with a vertically disposed tubular sintering chamber of a feed mechanism provided with a tapered delivery orifice arranged above said chamber and radially with respect thereto and at an interval. therefrom, and a rotary helical chute arranged between the delivery orifice of said feed mechanism and the upper end of said sintering chamber, said chute being provided intermediate its width with a directing flange.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand.

PHILIP O. HARDING.

Witnesses A. J. PERRONE, EMILIO FLOREZ.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. G. 

